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BTC-e disruption

July 2017, Cryptocurrency laundering
Led by Federal Bureau of Investigation

Extended pass entry, last reviewed August 21, 2026

What was taken down?

Exchange infrastructure disabled.

See what happened

What happened to the people?

Officials reported 1 charged, 1 apprehended, and 1 convicted.
1 apprehended and 1 convicted named in the public record.
Group accounted for: Likely complete

See people and accountability

Did it stay down?

Not established in the public record. No later activity is recorded against this entry.

See what happened afterward

US DOJ/FBI/IRS and international partners dismantled the BTC-e cryptocurrency exchange while alleged operator Alexander Vinnik was arrested in Greece; criminal money-laundering and unlicensed-money-service charges followed.

Date
July 2017
Target
BTC-e, cryptocurrency exchange
Activity
Cryptocurrency laundering
Operational lead
FBI
Partners
Hellenic Police, IRS-CI[1]
Jurisdiction
Not established
Outcome
Exchange infrastructure disabled.
Status
Completed
Legal mechanism
Federal criminal indictment; Greek arrest warrant at US request.
Group accounted for
Likely complete

1
apprehended
1
convicted

Named in the public record: 1 apprehended and 1 convicted.

Figures count individuals named in charging documents and official statements, each person once per outcome. People alleged to be involved but not publicly identified are not counted.

Reported and named. Officials reported 1 charged, 1 apprehended, and 1 convicted. 1 apprehended and 1 convicted named in the public record. The two figures come from different places and are never added together. Officials publish a headline total, and this index counts only the individuals it can name from the cited record.
Person Role Current public status
Operator of BTC-e ArrestedConvicted
Charging authority
Not established in the public record
Main charges
Money laundering
Case number
Not established in the public record
Arresting authority
Hellenic Police
Arrest location
Greece
Extradition status
Not established in the public record
Conviction or plea
Convicted
Sentence
Not established in the public record
Segment
Core operator
Sources
[1]
Full record
Everything indexed for Alexander Vinnik

Alexander Vinnik

Operator of BTC-e. Current public status: Arrested and Convicted.

Charging authority
Not established in the public record
Main charges
Money laundering
Case number
Not established in the public record
Arresting authority
Hellenic Police
Arrest location
Greece
Extradition status
Not established in the public record
Conviction or plea
Convicted
Sentence
Not established in the public record
Segment
Core operator
Sources
[1]
Full record
Everything indexed for Alexander Vinnik

Rows expand to show charging authority, case identifiers, custody status, and sources.

Group accounted for: Likely complete

Sole named principal operator arrested, extradited (to France, then repatriated), and ultimately convicted in US proceedings.

See the organizations and roles behind this action

Not established in the public record. No later activity is recorded against this entry.

Numbered markers throughout this entry link to the source that supports the claim beside them.

Official sources

  1. [1]
    BTC-e cryptocurrency exchange dismantled; operator Alexander Vinnik arrested

    US DOJ / FBI / IRS-CI, July 26, 2017, Source grade S2

    Establishes the BTC-e disruption and Vinnik's arrest in Greece.

    No address recorded for this source. Publisher, title, and date are given so it can be retrieved from the publisher.

Coverage note. Added from deep-research aggregation pass. Not independently re-verified source-by-source to the same standard as the original 38-incident core; source_quality capped at S2/P2 pending a dedicated verification pass.